Glee: The Next Step
by WildeAbrams
Summary: AU: Sometimes things in life don't go as hoped or planned, as Artie Abrams, Quinn Fabray, Finn Hudson, and Rachel Berry discover when all four of them end up attending Ohio State University together the fall after they graduated from high school. Finchel & Quartie!


Glee: The Next Step

By Wilde Abrams

Characters: Artie, Finn, Quinn, Rachel

Pairings: Quartie, Finchel, Faberry Friendship, Fartie Friendship, Archel Friendship, Fuinn Friendship

Description: Sometimes things in life don't go as hoped or planned, as Artie Abrams, Quinn Fabray, Finn Hudson, and Rachel Berry discover when all four of them end up attending Ohio State University together the fall after they graduated from high school.

Background Notes: AU. More or less cannon through the end of season 2, but with some differences after that. Artie, Tina, and Blaine didn't get demoted a grade in season 3 so they are still in the same grade as the others. The friendship between Artie and Quinn mentioned in Quartie Headcanon mostly happened.

Finn didn't have the grades to get into anything but an in state college, nor did he get the football scholarship that he wanted. He did get into OSU which he was able to afford with some help from his mom and Burt, and some small loans. Artie was still inspired to be a director by West Side Story, but didn't have the funds to go to a fancy school and questioned whether he would be able to make a living at it. Quinn and Finn still had a messy breakup at the end of junior year, but the distance that they kept from eachother over the summer helped her get over it. She never went off the deep end and didn't try to sabotage Shelby. The Troubletones never happened. Quinn still had her accident and still got into Yale, but didn't have the funds to go to an expensive college. Her parents would only help her if she went to a college within driving distance, so it was OSU for her as well. Finn and Rachel still planned to get married senior year, but Rachel got cold feet and they decide to just be friends. Rachel still choked in her NYADA audition, but this time Madam Tibideaux didn't give her a second chance. For lack of anywhere else to go, Rachel also decided to attend OSU and lick her wounds. In college, Artie is living in a first floor handicapped accessible room by himself. Finn lives upstairs from him and has a roommate obsessed with partying and getting into a fraternity. Quinn and Rachel are in different rooms in a different hall, each with their own roommate. Quinn's roommate is attached at the hip to the frat brother she is dating and she sleeps over a lot (as does he … eewe…!). Rachel's roommate is homesick and mopy. The 4 of them are determined to focus on each doing their own things and putting high school, and all of the drama associated with it behind them. But of course, things don't go exactly as planned.

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The Next Step

Chapter 1: The Pact

By Wilde Abrams

== Artie Abrams ==

Artie Abrams was a bit of a loaner. He had always been mostly a social outcast. Being confined to a wheelchair after being in a car accident at the age of 8 tended to do that to you. This status was cemented when his only close friend Lucy moved away a year and a half after his accident.

But things began to look up for him in middle school when he met Tina Cohen-Chang, who was to become his best friend and later girlfriend. Tina had a stutter when she talked, and she was the one person in school who could see past the chair.

In high school he was reunited (sort of) with his childhood friend, who went by her middle name Quinn now. But she had changed a lot over the years and the two of them were now on the exact opposite ends of the social spectrum at the school (she was head cheerleader, he was head of the AV Club and a member of the Jazz Band), so they didn't socialize with each other until both joined Glee Club, Sophomore year. Shortly thereafter she had a sudden fall from grace when it came out that she was pregnant so they began to talk more.

During sophomore year, Tina and Artie had begun to majorly crush on eachother, and she was his first kiss. But, Artie was understandably upset when she revealed that the stutter that she'd had since they had met was fake, and it took him a few weeks to get over it.

Eventually the two of them had officially begun dating, and had dated for the remainder of the school year and into the summer. But over the summer Tina had worked as a counselor at Asian Camp with fellow glee club member Mike Chang. During that time she had gotten impatient with the lack of attention she had been getting from Artie long distance and cheated on him with Mike. When she returned, she dumped him and officially begun dating Mike.

Artie was devastated and convinced his friend Finn, the quarterback, to help him get on the football team (there was no rule against it) in an attempt to win her back. When that didn't work, he began dating ditzy cheerleader Brittany, who took his virginity in an attempt to help him get over Tina.

But once again a girl he liked was misleading him. It turned out that she was using him to make her closeted girlfriend Santana jealous and to try to win a duets competition. After he had gotten over that, the two of them had started dating again (since Santana still wasn't ready to come out of the closet), and dated for most of the remainder of the school year until he called her stupid in a fit of frustration when it became apparent that Santana had tricked her into cheating on him.

Two girlfriends in two years. Both mislead him about something important, and both ended up cheating on him. Maybe the universe was trying to tell him something?

As Junior Year came to a close, Artie began to realize that he probably wouldn't be able to date a girl in high school who truly appreciated him.

Over the summer he managed to reconnect with Lucy (Quinn) as both of them had recently had to endure messy breakups. With Quinn now off the Cheerios, and without the pressure of the high school social hierarchy, the two of them had settled back into the easy friendship of their childhood.

As Senior Year rolled around, Artie wondered if Quinn and he would be able to maintain their easy friendship, or weather Quinn would go back to being Head Cheerleader and Queen Bee of the school now that people had mostly forgotten about the baby she'd had.

He took it as a good sign when she walked into glee club the first day of school, sans uniform, flashed him a smile and sat down next to him.

When Mr. Schuester announced their first assignment of the fall, Quinn had turned to him and said, "Partners?" He smiled and happily agreed. The two of them had partnered with each other many times that year, much to the surprise of some of the others.

Part way through Senior Year, Artie was the student director of West Side Story, and discovered his true calling of being a director. The only problem was he wasn't sure if he was good enough that he would be able to make a living at it.

As great as being friends with Quinn and the other glee club members was, Artie was still a guy and craved a relationship with a woman, but few seemed interested. He set his sights on the new girl in Glee: Sugar Motta. The girl was literally tone deaf and couldn't sing a note, but her rich daddy bought her way into Glee Club with a generous financial donation to both the school and Glee Club. No more bake sales to raise money to go to competitions!

The girl as ableist in the extreme and had absolutely zero tact, which she rationalized and explained away with "self diagnosed Aspergers." But he didn't care. She was hot, and he didn't think that he'd ever find a girl in high school who really appreciated him, despite the chair, so he put up with it.

But first he had to get her to give him the light of day. She'd already rejected him twice before he'd competed with Irish foreign exchange student Rory Flanagan to get her to agree to be his date to her Valentine's Day Party. He'd used every advantage at his disposal, but lost when the new guy used the pity card. He'd attended that particular party as third wheel to Tina and Mike, but managed to win Sugar over shortly thereafter, much to Rory's chagrin.

Things were looking up, But his world turned upside down when his friend Quinn had been in a car accident on the way to a wedding. For days, nothing else mattered, and Artie hadn't left her bedside until he knew that she was okay; and he later helped her through the physical therapy that she needed to go through in order to recover. Meanwhile, Sugar, who didn't understand, went back to Rory, but he didn't really care.

After three years of trying, the New Directions won nationals senior year and they ended their high school careers on a high note.

Artie applied to the best film schools in the country and was accepted into both UCLA, and the Brooklyn Film Academy. Unfortunately he wasn't able to secure enough financial aid to afford either of those schools, so it was instate tuition at the University of Ohio, for at least two years. He took it as a sign that he needed to make a fresh start to gain some perspective.

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== Quinn Fabray ==

Quinn Fabray had started her high school career on top in almost all aspects of her life. She had been one of only a handful of freshmen to make the national champion Cheerios cheerleading squad. She had so impressed cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester with her athletic and leadership abilities that she had been named Captain her sophomore year. She'd managed to snag the heart of the Quarterback of the football team, Finn Hudson, and he agreed to be her boyfriend the spring of her Freshmen year.

She was elevated to the Queen Bee of the school. She literally moved people with her attitude. Every boy wanted to date her. Every girl wanted to be her. And on top of that, she was President of two of the most prestigious clubs in school: The Christ Crusaders, and the Celibacy Club. Life was good.

But two weeks into sophomore year everything started to crash down around her. For completely incomprehensible reasons, Quinn's dream boyfriend decided that it was a good idea to join Glee Club, because he apparently didn't care about social status.

No matter what she did, she wasn't able to convince him to quit glee club. Apparently he really enjoyed it, or so he said. Eventually Quinn realized that there was another reason Finn wanted to stay on Glee Club. It was his excuse to spend time with the troll, Rachel Berry, who made no attempt to hide her crush on him. Quinn was furious!

After numerous attempts to talk him out of it (including offering to let him feel her up, under the shirt, over the bra), he was still adamant about staying in that stupid club because he enjoyed singing too much to quit. Quinn was frustrated and furious, and enlisted the help of Finn's best friend, Noah "Puck" Puckerman, in her quest to get Finn to quit. In her mindset, she made the mistake of trusting him and he got her drunk - well tipsy anyway - on a day that she was upset about a two pound weight gain, and she reluctantly had sex with him after insisting that he wear a condom. But after telling her to trust him, he didn't use one after all. She immediately regretted it and tried to put the incident behind her. It was his word against hers if it ever came out.

Finally she figured that if she couldn't beat them then she may as well see what all the fuss was about and joined glee club herself with the intention of sabotaging it from within if necessary, along with the help of her friends Santana and Brittany, and Coach Sylvester, who seemed to have some sort of vendetta against the glee club. It also made it easier for her to keep an eye on Rachel and Finn.

Several weeks later her period was late and she found out that she was pregnant, with Puck's baby. Utilizing some quick thinking she managed to convince Finn (whom she had never actually had sex with) that he had impregnated her when he ejaculated in a hot tub when they were making out. He bought it.

She managed to keep word of her pregnancy quiet for several weeks before it came out to the glee club members who were surprisingly supportive. Everyone thought that Finn was the father except Puck, who knew that she had been a virgin and had never slept with Finn. When Finn blabbed to her parents, Quinn's father kicked her out of the house.

Eventually Puck blabbed to Mercedes who told everyone else, and Quinn was forced to admit to Finn, and the entire glee club, that Puck was the father. The resulting drama had nearly destroyed the club days before sectionals, but Finn had arrived in the 11th hour and rallied them to their first competition win, in spite of the fact that their set list had been leaked to their competition by Coach Sylvester.

The rest of the club was surprisingly cool about the whole thing, and supported her. But once Coach Sylvester had found out, she unceremoniously removed Quinn from the Cheerios.

Stripped of everything that she valued, she began to cultivate real friends with several members of the club, including Mercedes and her childhood friend Artie. With the exception of Finn, who was understandably still upset with her, no one really judged her for her mistakes, and supported her through the remainder of her pregnancy. She even tried actually dating Puck for a while, but that didn't work out.

Her mother had just come to congratulate her on her performance and invited her to come home, when her water broke just minutes after performing with the rest of the Glee club at regionals. She went into labor and delivered her baby daughter later that day.

Puck and she agreed to put their baby daughter up for adoption, for her own good, and tried to move on with their lives. Without the baby to connect them. Their romance didn't last much into the summer and she used the opportunity to reconnect with Artie, who was also nursing a broken heart.

Come fall, after a few days of uneasiness, Quinn managed to win back her position as Captain of the Cheerios. She also re-joined glee club. Puck and she were long over, and she still loved Finn, who was dating Rachel again. Quinn knew that the two of them could be the power couple in the school and shoe-ins for Prom Royalty in the spring if she could get him to be with her. But he was clearly still infatuated with Rachel, so she dated the new boy in glee club, Sam Evans, who had a lot of potential, for about half the year.

But eventually Finn and Rachel had a huge fight, and Quinn took advantage of it to get him to be with her again, and Sam and She had broken up. She'd dated Finn for several months, but had still lost Prom Queen, when the student body had used the election as a cruel joke at the expense of her gay male fellow glee clubber Kurt, whom they had elected Prom Queen.

Finn had been torn between Rachel and Quinn the entire time they had been dating, but by the end of the year, Finn had made his choice, and he chose Rachel. She had a final breakup with Finn just before Nationals. (What was it with them with relationship drama before competitions?) Afterwards she decided to take a break from dating.

Over the summer Quinn and her childhood friend Artie had reconnected again and consoled themselves having both experienced recent painful breakups for the second time.

Quinn had decided that Senior Year was going to be all about developing herself and planning her future. She had decided to go back to glee club, but not the Cheerios, despite the efforts of several people to recruit her.

She sat next to Artie in Glee Club and partnered with him for most assignments. When he began dating Sugar Motta she had chosen to date the formerly home schooled Joe Hart, whom she had met thought the new Christian club, The God Squad. He was sweet and all, but a bit of a prude.

That spring Finn and Rachel had announced that they were getting married. Quinn and many of the glee club members were shocked, but most, including Quinn, had eventually come around. Following the Regionals victory of the New Directions, Quinn had rushed home to change into her Bridesmaids dress and been sideswiped by a truck on her way back while responding to a text.

When she woke up, Quinn saw Artie, Joe, and her mother at her bedside. She'd been unable to use her legs and was informed that her spinal cord was compressed and she'd have to use a wheelchair and have several months of physical therapy, which Artie (who, according to her mom, hadn't left her bedside until she'd woken up) agreed to help her with.

Quinn's relationship with Joe hadn't been strong enough to survive the stress that she was under and the two of them had drifted apart and eventually broken up. When Artie had tried to remind her that being in a wheelchair wasn't as bad as she was making it out to be, the two of them had had the worst fight that they'd ever had, and she said some very hurtful things that she later regretted, but after a few days to really think it over, she'd realized what he was trying to tell her and they'd made up.

She eventually managed to recover and walk and dance again just in time for Prom, which Artie and she had gone to together as friends. Quinn still actively campaigning for Prom Queen, hoping to win with Finn. But at the last minute Quinn conspired with Santana - whom she'd actually tied with - to let Rachel win Prom Queen to Finn's Prom King. The girl really needed it after calling off her wedding due to cold feet and blowing her big audition.

Quinn had managed to keep her grades up, and by mid spring she'd gotten news that she had been accepted into the prestigious Yale University. But, as usual, her father used his money to control his daughter and refused to pay for anything more than instate tuition, so she reluctantly decided to attend The University of Ohio, with the hope of transferring in a year or two if she could convince her dad or pay for it or secure other funding. And who knows, maybe a fresh start in a new place might be just what she needed?

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== Finn Hudson ==

Finn Hudson had been raised by his mom his entire life. His father had died in the first Iraq war, or so he'd always been told, and as a result he'd always lived his life trying to be worthy of him.

Finn had been into sports for as long as he could remember, and it was no surprise that he'd been named Quarterback of the McKinley High School Titans football team in the spring of his freshmen year. Shortly thereafter he'd met and begun dating the new Head Cheerleader Quinn Fabray. She was smokin' hot! He really liked her, even though she was a bit of a prude and wouldn't even let him touch her butt or boobs.

Three weeks into Sophomore Year, his Spanish teacher Mr. Schue had found enough Pot in his locker to qualify as a felony, which was weird, because he didn't smoke pot. Apparently his willingness to pee in a cup made no difference, because possession was nine tenths of the law or whatever. As punishment he'd been required to choose either after school detention for the entire year (which would remain on his permanent record) or join the newly reformed glee club. Obviously he chose the glee club, even though it kinda sucked to hang out with the Lima Losers.

At first he was really dreading it, and took a lot of crap for it from Puck and the other guys. But Finn found that he really liked to sing and dance - even if he had like zero coordination - and he REALLY liked that Rachel girl who was the lead singer, which was confusing because he also liked Quinn.

After a few days he started to like some of the others in the group too. When Mr. Schue told them that he was leaving to become an accountant because his wife was having a kid, at first he wanted to quit. But after he thought about it, Finn rescued that Artie kid from the porta potty before Puck and the other jocks could flip it over, and rallied the group into putting together a real kick ass version of Don't Stop Believin' to get them to let him back in, and when Mr. Schue had witnessed it, he decided to stay.

When Quinn found out what he'd done, she got really mad at him for joining because someone had told her that people were saying that he was gay like Kurt Hummel, and that she'd start growing a beard by dating him, which confused Finn. He didn't think it worked that way.

After a week or so she seemed to get over it though, because she also joined glee club. Mr. Schue made him the male lead, and Quinn gave him dirty looks every time he looked at or sang with Rachel… which was a lot!

A few weeks later, Quinn told him that she was pregnant. He was stunned. He didn't understand how that could be because she'd never let him get past second base. But apparently she'd asked someone named Jeeves, and he'd told her that it must have happened when he came while they were making out in the hot tub that one time the previous month. Apparently the hot tub was the perfect temperature for sperm.

Finn was confused. He was dating Quinn and she was having his baby, but he really liked Rachel. As time went on she began pressuring him for money for her medical bills. She wanted him to get a job, but no one was hiring. He got so frustrated that he avoided her and spent more time with Rachel because it was more fun.

Things got more and more awkward between them, and a few days before sectionals, Rachel told Finn that someone had told her that he wasn't the father of Quinn's baby, Puck was. He was so angry that he comforted both of them before glee club and Quinn admitted with tears in her eyes that Puck was the father of her child. It was like an episode of Jerry Springer. He kicked a chair, told everyone that he was done with them and stormed out.

The day of sectionals Finn was at school cleaning out his football locker when Mr. Schue approached him. The man wasn't with the club at sectionals because he was taking the blame for the glee club doing a commercial. He'd heard that things were going bad at sectionals when Mr. Schue approached him and told him that he didn't think they could win without him, and that sometimes being special really sucked.

Finn found some songs, copied them, trashed the Cheerios copier and drove to sectionals to help his team win by taking charge. He still hated Quinn and Puck, but didn't want to blame the rest of the team for that. He really loved glee club and was becoming friends with many of the members. They had their first competition victory that day, and everyone was happy.

A week later it came out that Rachel had met and started dating this Jesse St. James kid from Carmel High. The dude was as obsessed with performing as she was. This really sucked because Finn thought that now that he was broken up with Quinn, he could finally date Rachel without feeling guilty. But she wasn't interested anymore. He'd gotten the rest of the club to pressure her into breaking up with him because he was on their sectionals competition Vocal Adrenaline. But in response, Jesse transferred to McKinley, and they began to date openly.

A few weeks later, Santana offered to punch Finn's V card, and at first he'd turned her down. But when Rachel let it be known that she planned to sleep with Jesse, he told Santana that he'd changed his mind. That Friday he'd taken Santana on a date and slept with her in a motel room. Surprisingly enough he didn't feel different. In fact he hadn't felt anything. The following Monday Rachel told him they she'd really enjoyed herself with Jesse. But a few weeks later it was revealed that Jesse was unhappy at McKinley and transferred back to Carmel High, but not before his Vocal Adrenaline friends and he had humiliated her by egging her.

As Regionals approached, Finn and Rachel finally started dating officially, and she revealed that she'd lied and hadn't slept with Jesse after all. Finn lied and said that he hadn't slept with Santana either.

The New Directions ended their year by losing Regionals, even though they had done an amazing Journey medley, opening with Faithfully, sung by Finn and Rachel, and ending with the classic Don't Stop Believin', because Coach Sylvester had somehow managed to become named one of the judges.

But for some reason Principal Figgins had changed his mind and given Glee Club another year.

Finn and Rachel had dated all summer and were an official item when Junior Year began. Things were good once they found a replacement for Matt, who transferred to another school over the summer, and Puck got out of juvie, so they had 12 members again.

Artie was really torn up about the fact that Tina had dumped him over the summer and Finn tried to help him by intervening with the new football coach to help him get on the team. That didn't endear him to the new coach, and Finn was cut from the team for insubordination or whatever.

That Sam kid that they had recruited to replace Matt was pretty cool, even if he didn't understand that Justin Bieber sucked, and took Finn's spot as quarterback of the football team. He also started dating Quinn. Eventually, Coach Beiste had a change of heart and let Finn back on the team, but as second string quarterback, not starting. She also let Artie on the team as the team battering ram.

Eventually Sam had dislocated his shoulder in a game, and Finn was back as starting quarterback. Things were looking up, except that Rachel was upset at him for going back to the team. Apparently, she believed that their relationship would only work if they were both losers.

But the rest of the team continued to give Sam, Mike, Puck, Artie, and Finn crap for being on glee club. It got so bad that coach and Mr. Schue decided to make the entire football team join Glee club for a week. When Coach Sylvester pulled some strings and had the Cheerios sectionals moved to the same day as the football team conference championship, they had to perform "Thriller/Our Heads Will Roll" at their own halftime show, and Finn had used his charm to get Quinn, Brittany, and Santana to choose glee club over Cheerios. The performance had been a success, and they had won the game.

He was finally starting to make up with Puck, but his friend confessed that the reason he'd sung I Need You Now with Rachel was because Rachel wanted to make him jealous and he admitted to making out with her to make him jealous. But he promised to never do it again. Rachel on the other hand defended her actions.

That Monday after glee club, Quinn had told him how proud she was of him and kissed him, before going back to her boyfriend Sam. Afterwards Finn got all of these confusing feelings back and began to pursue Quinn again. Eventually the two of them had gotten back together and Sam had begun dating Santana.

The rest of that year was filled with back and forth relationship drama and it made Finn's head hurt to think about. He was very conflicted about his feelings for both girls. Somewhere along the way the truth came out about Finn sleeping with Santana, which Rachel was pissed about, but she eventually got past it.

But it took the death of Coach Sylvester's sister to prompt Finn to finally decide what he really wanted. He wanted Rachel. He had from the moment he met her, but still cared deeply for Quinn. Ultimately, he broke up with Quinn after the funeral and got back together with Rachel permanently.

Glee club lost nationals that year, due in large part to an unplanned onstage kiss between Finn and Rachel, but the two of them still thought that it was worth it.

That summer Finn and Rachel dated, and going into the fall things had gone really well for them. But shortly into the year it hit Finn that they were seniors this year and would be be graduating in the spring. Rachel knew exactly what she wanted to do. She was leaving in the spring for college in New York, and Broadway. That had been her plan since she had begun to walk and talk.

Finn, on the other hand, had no idea what he wanted. He did his best to ignore those feelings for as long as he could, but eventually he had to face the fact that he had no idea what he really wanted. As time passed he came to the realization that the one thing in life that he really wanted was to be with Rachel, wherever she was. But he was afraid that he was going to loose her, so that winter, shortly before Valentine's Day, he took out his first credit card, bought an engagement ring, and proposed to Rachel. After taking a few days to think about it she accepted. Both of their families took the news fairly well and agreed to support them. The glee club was kind of split at first, but eventually they came around.

Their wedding was scheduled for after their regionals victory in mid February, but when Quinn had been injured in a car accident on her way there, the spell had been broken and Rachel got cold feet and returned the ring.

Finn was devastated, both by the accident, and by Rachel's reaction. He loved Rachel, and deeply cared about Quinn; just not in the same way. Finn had hoped that she would come around when Quinn began to recover, but instead she'd been more convinced than ever that she'd made the right decision. She'd fallen into an even worse funk when she'd blown her big college audition, and no matter what Finn or anyone else did, they couldn't bring her out of it. Even their Nationals win in the end for May hadn't changed her mind.

Finn was as lost as ever, and since he hadn't done so well scholastically and hadn't managed to endear himself to any football scouts, he didn't qualify for any scholarships. But his mom and Burt agreed to pay for his tuition to attend Ohio State University in the fall, and help him with his other living expenses so he could figure things out for himself.

A fresh start in a new place could be a good thing, right?

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Rachel Berry

Rachel Barbara Berry was a star, destined for Broadway greatness, or so she'd been told for as long as she could remember by her two gay dads. "I'm a star. A star is a metaphor, and metaphors are important!" she told anyone who would listen.

She lived and breathed performing. Her dad's had her in dance and vocal lessons starting at the age of three. She'd been in every school and community theater production she was able to make time for, almost always as the lead or co lead. And in the rare occasion that she hadn't gotten the lead or the solo, it was because the teacher or director had been intimidated by her talent.

Starting in middle school she tried to post a video of herself performing something to MySpace, and continued to do so long after most people had migrated to Facebook and YouTube, just to keep her instrument in shape.

When she entered ninth grade at William McKinley High School, the first thing she did was audition for glee club and join every other club she could make time for. She felt that it was her responsibility as a future professional star actress to immerse herself to as many cultures and meet as many different types of people as possible.

Once Rachel got involved in Glee Club, she realized that the director Sandy Ryerson was a closet case living his former show choir dreams vicariously through his students. Rachel was furious when she realized that he had a clear favorite in the person of Hank Saunders, whom he planned every performance around. He just would not listen to reason when Rachel insisted that she was a star!

At first she thought that he was merely intimidated by her talent like the rest. That was pretty common among middle aged performing arts teachers. But when she happened to walk past a closed private rehearsal with just the two of them the second week of school sophomore year, she witnessed that closet case touching poor Hank inappropriately. She had put up with Mr. Ryerson ignoring her talent for over a year. But what she witnessed was just plain wrong and it was her civic duty to report it and bring him to justice.

Shortly thereafter she heard that Mr. Ryerson had gotten fired, Hank had gone into therapy and transferred to a different school, and Principal Figgins had decided to disband the glee club to save money.

Rachel had been devastated! That wasn't what she wanted at all! How was she going to showcase her talent if there was no glee club? The views for her videos on MySpace had been steadily decreasing, and the comments that people were leaving were becoming increasingly inappropriate. The recent one from one of the cheerleaders suggesting that she get sterilized was particularly mean spirited!

But things began to look up a couple days later, when she heard that Mr. Schuster, the really cool Spanish teacher who looked like an old Justin Timberlake was re launching the glee club. He had been a member of the glee club who had won the National Championship in 1993. That was forever ago, but he must remember a few things. She might even be able to learn something from him, even if they had done it with Disco. Regardless, he had to be better than Mr. Ryerson.

Rachel had blown Mr. Schuster away in her audition, and watching the others auditing from the balcony, she could see that she had no real competition: There was Tina, the Asian girl with the stutter who barely made it through the song. Mercedes was a plus sized black girl with a powerful instrument, but no real drive or discipline. Neither of them were any real competition for her for the female lead. Of the two guys, Kurt was a flaming gay like Sandy Ryerson with a powerful falsetto voice. Artie was a strong singer, but he dressed like a geek and was confined to a wheelchair. Neither had the charisma and raw sex appeal that was needed for a male lead.

During their first rehearsal the five of them attempted to do a rendition of Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat. Rachel was outraged when Mr Schuester actually gave the first solo to the boy in the wheelchair! On top of that, the others had issues with even basic choreography, and the performance was just terrible overall.

Rachel stormed off in disgust. Twenty minutes later, Mr Schuster found her sitting on the bleachers watching Cheerios and Football practices. He confessed to her that he knew that she was the best performer in the club, but that the others would get better. She told him that she didn't have time to wait. The clock was ticking and she needed to showcase her talent to get people to stop hating her. "Being a part of something special makes you special," she told him, and if Mr. Schuester couldn't give her what she needed - a male lead who could keep up with her - then she couldn't waste her time anymore.

A few days later he did just that. Mr. Schuster introduced the newest member of the glee club, Finn Hudson. Finn was the Quarterback of that football team. He was a gentle giant who oozed sex appeal and charisma, and who was also a great singer. With the exception of Mercedes, who was clearly just jealous, the entire club was thrilled by their performance of You're the One that I Want, from Grease. His choreography could use some work, and he could be kind of slow sometimes, but she could definitely work with that. She would just have to re prioritize her busy schedule to make time to tutor him privately. She literally shoved Artie aside so that Finn could take his rightful place at her side.

Over the next few days Rachel spent a great deal of time with him helping him with his performance. The more time that she spent with Finn the more convinced she was that he was the person for her. She just knew in her heart that by that time sectionals rolled around in November, that the two of them would become an item. Perhaps sooner. It was very apparent that he liked her.

Rachel was crestfallen when Finn told her that he already had a girlfriend in the person of Quinn Fabray, Head Cheerleader and President of the Celibacy Club. But she knew chemistry when she saw it. She resolved herself to simply wait it out. Sooner or later Finn would break up with Quinn and be with her.

Over the next few weeks, Rachel and the rest of the glee club spent a lot of time together learning their numbers for sectionals. A week or so after Finn joined, Quinn also joined along with her friends Brittany and Santana. Rachel did not understand why they were doing this and seriously question their motives. But Mr. Schue insisted that anyone who wanted to could be in the club, and they had done a very good audition. They were probably spies for Sue Sylvester the cheerleading coach. It was no secret that she detested the glee club. But Rachel couldn't object to their abilities. They weren't as good as her, of course, but they definitely had some talent, and they needed members for the club.

Only a couple weeks after Quinn joined Glee it came out that she was pregnant with Finn's child. Rachel was heartbroken, but resolved to do what she could for Finn, who seemed to have been completely sideswiped by the revelation. As time passed Finn and Quinn's relationship became more and more strained; and to Rachel's glee he began spending more and more time with her.

As sectionals approached, Rachel heard a rumor that Finn was not the father of Quinn's baby after all. As this rumor seemed to be more and more confirmed Rachel knew that it was her duty to break the news to Finn. Just before glee club a couple of days before sectionals, Rachel informed Finn of her suspicions.

Then, just before the club rehearsal began, Finn confronted Quinn in a fit of anger. In tears Quinn admitted that yes Noah 'Puck' Puckerman was the father of her child. Rachel had never seen Finn so angry. He kicked over a chair and told everyone in Glee club that he was done with them, and stormed off.

Rachel could not believe what she had done! Shortly thereafter she approached Quinn and apologize to her. She even offered to let the girl beat her up as long as she tried to avoid her nose. But to her surprise Quinn was not even really mad at her. She was actually kind of relieved that Rachel had done what Quinn herself have been unable to do: tell the truth.

As more details came out, Rachel learned that Finn had never even sleep with Quinn. The cheerleader had somehow convinced the slow to catch on Quarterback, that he had accidentally impregnated her when he ejaculated while the were making out in a hot tub. She couldn't believe it!

In attempt to foster glee club unity, as team captain, Rachel had booked them a gig doing a commercial for the Mattress Land mattress store in town. They have all performed the song Jump by Van Halen dressed in powder blue pajamas dancing and jumping around inside the mattress store.

The commercial had been a huge hit, and a boost to club morale, but it had also gotten the attention of cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester who immediately reported it to The Show Choir Governing Board and Principal Figgins. Apparently one of the rules in Show Choir Rule Book was that the performance is to be completely amateur, and that by doing the commercial they had negated their amateur status. They hadn't actually been given any form of compensation other than they were each given a free mattress. They could've given them back except for the fact that Mr. Shuster who had been having problems with his wife had open one and slept on it and his office. Therefore it could not be returned or donated to charity.

It appeared that their show choir careers were over before they even started, until Mr. Schube accepted responsibility for it and got himself disqualified, thus protecting the rest of the club and allowing them to perform. But that meant that they had to go into sectionals without an advisor. A couple days later he had recruited Ms. Pillsbury, the guidance counselor, to be his replacement. But she just wasn't the same and didn't have his breadth of knowledge and experience. He wasn't even allowed to assist them in putting together the set list.

They threw together a set list consisting of favorite songs that they had done so far that year, along with the new ballad by Mercedes. At first Rachel had been very upset that Miss Pillsbury wanted to give Mercedes the chance at the solo. But it soon became apparent that the group loved the performance and so Rachel had relented in the name of group unity. They prepared the songs and choreography and hoped for the best.

Without Finn, they were down to 11 members so they recruited that creepy blogger kid with the Afro, Jacob Ben Israel, to sway in the back, because they just didn't have time to train anybody else before the competition.

Rachel was outraged when they got to sectionals and found out that their competition was performing the exact same songs that they were performing in the exact same styles. Clearly someone had leaked the set list. Quinn revealed that Santana, Brittany, and herself had been, as Rachel suspected, recruited by Coach Sylvester to be her Spies. Quinn had been unceremoniously kicked off of the cheerleading squad when Coach Sylvester found out about her pregnancy so she had no more loyalty to her, and Santana stated that they did not leak the list. Britney sheepishly admitted that she had, but told them that she didn't know what she was going to do with it.

Just as it appeared to Rachel that things couldn't get any worse, God sent them manna from Heaven, in the person of Finn Hudson. It turned out that he'd heard what had happened and arrived with a new set list and a plan. He was still upset with Puck and Quinn, but didn't want to hold that against the others.

That afternoon they won their first sectionals and Rachel was thrilled! Things were definitely looking up, although Finn was still decidedly cool towards the rest of the group.

Rachel had every intention of giving Finn the time he needed to recover from Quinn and Puck's betrayal before presenting him with another opportunity to be with her. But a chance encounter at the Between The Sheets music store changed her plans.

It was there that she met Jesse, the first person whom she had ever met who seemed to really understand her. Performing was just as important to him as it was to her, and he demonstrated the charisma and polished talent that Finn struggled with in an impromptu performance of the Stevie Wonder hit Hello, in the music store.

Rachel was disappointed when it was revealed that he was the lead singer of their rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline! She convinced herself that she could keep their glee club and personal lives separate if they dated, but after an intervention from her fellow glee club members she accepted that they couldn't.

It was then that Jesse surprised them by officially transferring to McKinley high and joining the New Directions. Once Mr. Schue certified that the transfer was indeed real, Rachel was overjoyed, and the rest of the club readily accepted. All except Finn, whom Rachel wasn't sure if he was jealous of Jesse's talent, or the fact that Rachel was dating him. Yes, Finn was over Quinn, and apparently wanted to date her now. But he'd had his chance, and chosen his adulterous girlfriend over her. He'd had his chance, but now she was with Jesse, who was actually in her league!

As time went on, Rachel became closer and closer with Jesse, and even agreed to give her virginity to him. To her shock Finn revealed that he had done the same with Santana. But when the time came, she found that she could not go through with it. For some reason she was relieved when Finn told her the same thing about sex with Santana. She didn't understand why she even cared because she was over him.

Unfortunately it turned out that the rest of the Glee Club had been right about Jesse. He was indeed a plant from Vocal Adrenaline, but was there for more than just to steal their set list. He was there to lead her into meeting her Biological mother, Shelby Corcoran, who was forbidden from approaching her directly until she turned 18.

Jesse's betrayal had put all of them in a funk, especially Rachel, but Mr. Schue pulled them out of it with a sudden inspiration. They competed in their first Regionals contest with a Journey medley, opening with Finn and Rachel singing Faithfully as a duet. Just before they went on stage Finn told Rachel that he loved her.

They lost the competition because Sue Sylvester got herself named as one of the judges, and Glee Club was canceled for about a day, but for some reason Principal Figgins had a change of heart and Glee was given another year.

Finn and Rachel dated all summer and into their junior year. For the first time Rachel was completely happy! But, unfortunately, he broke up with her when she admitted that she had made out with Puck to make him jealous. She was devastated again, and spent a great deal of energy trying to get him back, but he was more interested in winning Quinn back from the new kid Sam, and the being with her once he'd won her back.

But just before Nationals Finn unexpected and abruptly broke up, and after they shared a very passionate and unscripted on stage kiss as they finished the song Pretending, they were back together again.

Going into senior year Finn and Rachel continued to date and began planning for their futures. Rachel knew that she was destined for Broadway greatness, and once they found out that Juillard didn't have a Musical Theater department, Rachel and fellow Glee Club member Kurt Hummel set their sights on the prestigious New York Academy of Dramatic Arts (NYADA) and spent all of their free time pursuing applying there. Finn, on the other hand, had no idea what he wanted to do.

Rachel promised that they could focus on figuring out a dream for him once her further was secured. But, Finn began to feel like he was losing her to her broadway ambitions, so he quietly proposed to her. After getting some advice from her Glee Clubmates she gleefully accepted, and while some of them had their reservations, the rest of the club was supportive, with the notable exception of Quinn, who felt that it would be a mistake drag Finn into HER dream. But at the last minute Quinn had a change of heart and agreed to attend the wedding and support them when she realized how truly in love they were.

Unfortunately, on the way to the ceremony Quinn was nearly killed in a car accident while responding to a text from Rachel urging her to hurry up and get there. The wedding had been put on hold while they all rushed to the hospital. Quinn lived, but suffered some damage to her spinal cord which required surgery and several weeks or physical therapy before she could walk again.

Rachel took it as a sign, calling off the wedding, and broke up with Finn again in order to focus all of her energy on her NYADA audition. Both Kurt and Rachel made it past the first hurdle and were named finalists after sending in their video auditions. The final step was a live audition in front of the Dean, the illustrious Charmaine Thibodeau, who would visit McKinley to meet them and hear them sing.

The day that she arrived was the most stressful day of their young lives because so much was at stake. Both had prepared songs that they knew backwards and forwards. Kurt went first, and unexpectedly went against conventional wisdom and Rachel's advice, and substituted his prepared number Music of The Night for a more unique rendition of The Boy Next Door. The gamble appeared to have been successful as Thibodeau seemed very impressed.

When it was Rachel's turn, she'd prepared Don't Rain On My Parade, a song that she'd been belting out since she was three years old. She knew the song backwards and forwards. But when she took the stage the pressure was so immense that she forgot the second stanza words. She apologetically started again, and once again forgot the words. She apologized and tried to start a third time when Tibodeau interrupted her, and informed her that the audition was over; reminding her that when you forget the words to the song in Broadway, they give the job to your understudy. She told Rachel that she was sorry and left.

Rachel was devastated, but continued to lobby the woman for the rest of the school year, going so far as to actually stalk her and crash a course she was teaching at a community college in another city, and she invited her to see their performance at Nationals in Chicago, sending her complimentary tickets. But she dismissed her and threatened to call security and have her removed. Rachel continued to hold out hope that Thibodeau would change her mind, and when she was spotted in the audience it appeared that maybe she had.

The New Directions won Nationals that year after coming in twelfth the previous year because of Finn and Rachel's unprofessional stage kiss. They returned to McKinley the following Monday to a joyous celebration, and one more Glee lesson: saying goodbye to the school and their friends.

For Rachel and Kurt the uncertainty of their futures put a bit of a damper on the celebration. But, the day before the graduation ceremony, they each got letters from NYADA, and they agreed to open them together in the choir room. Both letters were plain looking and didn't betray any hints as to their contents.

The tensions was thick as Kurt and Rachel prepared to open their letters in front of their friends, parents, and teacher. They flipped a coin and Kurt went first.

Moments later Kurt was jumping up and down hugging his dad. He had gotten in!

A few minutes later the excitement had calmed down and it was Rachel's turn. She picked up the envelope and slowly open it and began to read.

"Dear Ms. Berry, we regret to inform you…" she didn't even get through the sentence. Her eyes began to fill with tears, and her entire body began to shake. She hadn't gotten in. Hiram and Leroy walked over just held her trying to comfort her, but to no avail. The New Directions most ambitious rising star wasn't going to her dream school in New York.

Everyone felt so bad for her, but no one knew what to say. Eventually everyone gradually left the room in a somber mood, some mumbling congratulations to Kurt, but most in silence. Eventually it we just the two of them left until even Kurt left. Rachel didn't even congratulate Kurt on grating in because she was so devastated.

Graduation day was somber and Rachel put on a brave face for her friends and family as she and she classmates accepted their diplomas. Several days after graduation, Rachel and her dads decided that she should get a change of scenery to get some distance from Lima and her friends to get some new perspective, and help her decide what was next, so she enrolled in Ohio State University. She'd only applied there because Ms. Pillsbury insisted that everyone apply to at least three schools, and earlier that year she'd gotten her acceptance letters and promptly forgotten about it.

== The Pact ==

Artie, Quinn, Finn, and Rachel sat together around a table at the Hudson-Hummel house one early summer afternoon. When they realized that the four of them would be attending Ohio State University together in the fall, they decided that it would be a good idea to get together and agree on some ground rules.

"So we are all agreed," Finn said, "College is the next step in our lives, and a fresh start for all of us. That means that even though we are all attending the same college, we are each going to be doing our own things."

"That means that if we are asked, we endeavor to be as vague as possible about our pasts here," Artie added. "If at all possible, we will keep it as simple as that we went to highschool together if we can't avoid the subject."

"No one should talk about who dated who," Finn declared.

"No disclosing the fact that we were in Glee Club together," Artie added.

"Or that I was a football player," Finn added.

"Or that I was a cheerleader," Quinn chimed in.

"Or that I was obsessed with Broadway and being a star for so long," Rachel added.

"And no one had better find out," Quinn warned, glancing at Rachel, "that I had a baby…."

"Agreed?"

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

"Agreed!"

"To the next step!" Finn declared, raising his glass of soda in a toast.

"You're kidding, right?" Artie asked with an irritated look, which the others shared.

"Stop acting like a lame teen movie," Quinn scolded him. "We're talking about moving on with our lives, not planning to lose our virginities, which all of us already have anyway."

Finn's grin fell and he lowered his cup to the table, dejected.

Voice Over: Will our heroes find happiness, love and success as they venture out into the real world at college? Find out in GLEE: THE NEXT STEP … coming early 2017….

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Author's Notes: I've been working on the premise for this story for quite a while, inspired by some old AU fanfic stories that had Quartie and Puckleberry or Fintana. I like Finchel better, and nobody seems to write much Finchel anymore, so here we are! What do you think? Any interest in seeing this continue?


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